What if your car stalls and General Patton is right behind you?

[Cyrano]

I had to run out a while ago, ended up stalling at a light, and the guy behind me decided to see how long he could press his horn.

I had my flashers on and was waving him around me, but for some reason, he was determined to make a point. Road-rage lunatics make discretion the better part of valor, so I got on my cell phone called AAA and tried to ignore him. No such luck.

I finally got out of the car to try to explain to him that if I could move, I would. He was probably in his mid-to-late 70s and had American flags fluttering from both or his rear windows. He got out when I did and screamed, "Move your fucking car."

Right or wrong, I tend to see flag fliers as having a need to demonstrate that they're "more patriotic than thou." So, (like the imbecile I often am), I replied, "Sorry, General Patton, I hadn't noticed your flags, or I would have moved."

He turned eight different shades of purple and screamed, "What the fuck does that mean?" I realized the situation was getting out of hand, dialed 911 on my cell, shut up, and got back in my car. The cops showed up, threatened to arrest him, my car got towed, and a friend picked me up. But I'm shaken by how close I came to strangling this "I'm-more-American-than-you-super-patriot" asshole.

This is southern Florida and there are many WWII and Korean vets here. I long ago gave up on my "There's no need to wave the flag to announce your Americanism" sermon. Far too many of these people will never get the difference between their wars, as opposed to Viet Nam and Iraq. Too many live in a "My country right or wrong" world.

[patrice]

1. Wow. That's kind of crazy.

Was it hard for him to go around you?

Another member of the so-called "Great Generation" prooves he isn't.

[WePurrsevere]

7. My first thought was he may have dementia. Many still drive for a while...

with no one making a stand against their driving. As an X family caregiver I can easily envision Pop doing just this in the same situation. It wasn't until I put my foot down that he had to give up his license. Until then he'd got lost in areas he knew, drove the wrong way up an exit ramp, took off other car mirrors parked on the road, etc. If a non-authority figure had gone up against him and told him he was wrong he probably would have blown a gasket.

Also even if he objected to the war, he also would likely have had flags on his car because as a WWII Vet it would have been his way of showing support of the troops and love of his country... to him the Flag was not just to show his political stance.

I'm not saying this is what happened in this case, I'm just suggesting that there are other sides and angles to situations that we forget about sometimes.

[patrice]

19. Thanks.

It's easy to forget how different it is to be old.

[Jack from Charlotte]

16. Reminds me of a joke my dad used to tell.....

Same situation. Guy with stalled car walks back to jackass who is blowing his horn and says, "I'll be glad to continue blowing your horn if you'll go start my car."

Regarding Patton.... he's been dead for 61 years now so I wouldn't think he was much of a threat.

[Ilsa]

2. Cyrano, I am so glad he wasn't packing concealed heat!

These crazy people probably come off really calm when they apply for their permits when in reality they are about to detonate.

I'm sorry your car stalled, and I'm sorry ypu got towed, but that man was a real asshole. I think the Patton comment was a scream! I suppose you have left-learning bumper stickers on the car? He probably decided he was going to wipe "scum" like you off the planet. I think calling 911 was an excellent idea.

I'm glad you're okay. :pals:

[Cyrano]

10. Thanks for the well wishes, Ilsa. I don't have any stickers on my car.

[jarab]

3. Mistaken identity; Gen Patton would not have blown his horn!

Otherwise, I'm glad I was not "placed" in your situation.
...O...

[madrchsod]

4. never get out of the car....

only bad things happen when one does

[Neil Lisst]

5. nice job!! Great story, too. That's all that really matters.

You got a great story out of the deal.

Me, I'd have said "hey Betsy Ross, what's the deal with the flags?!"

But that's me!

[Cleita]

6. I wouldn't have waited so long to call 911!

I'm glad you got out of there in one piece. When I lived in L. A., I had a jerk bump my car out into the middle of the intersection once, when my car stalled. Fortunately knights in shining armor (off duty cops in the car behind him)arrested him, called on-duty cops and directed traffic until a tow truck came.

I don't know what ever happened to the jerk because my insurance sent their lawyers to handle any court appearances but man that is scary.

[stop the bleeding]

8. "Sorry, General Patton, I hadn't noticed your flags, or I would have moved

LOL!!! that is classic I wish I could have seen him,

BTW I live in Tampa so I get my share of yellow ribbons, W's and Red white and blue.

"Sorry, General Patton, I hadn't noticed your flags, or I would have moved."

[Minnesota Libra]

9. Hey, I take offense to the General Patton reference but the rest..........

....is hilarious.:rofl: I'll bet you shut his mouth up but quick, would've loved to have been there.:bounce: Couldn't you have used the current Joint Chief or even Powell or some other current neocon??

I happen to think Patton was pretty smart but maybe that isn't allowed at DU??:shrug:

[Cyrano]

12. Given his age, Patton seemed to fit. (I saw the movie.)

I thought he was going to have a heart attack and at the moment, I couldn't have cared less, although it's something I know I would have regretted later on.

As an earlier poster said, I'm lucky he wasn't packing heat. This is a guy who would definitely have used it. Which brings up an entirely different subject. Although I'm a vet, I don't believe people should be carrying concealed weapons.

Maybe I'm wrong and maybe that belief will someday get me shot. Either way, I've carried enough guns in my life. I don't want ever carry another one.

[annabanana]

13. my WWII dad thought Patton

was a preening blowhard (his unit apparently bumped into him somewhere in Europe)

I personally never met him.

[Minnesota Libra]

14. That's cute!! But tell me what four-star general............

...isn't a "preening blowhard"??? They're all too big for their britches!! I never served under Patton or met the man either, I'm mainly going by books written (by others) about the man.

[Jai4WKC08]

15. Oh puh-lease

What a bigotted thing to say!

Personally, it's been my experience that four-star generals are probably a helluva lot LESS likely to be "preening blowhards" than those in the top echelons of any other profession. "Preening blowhard" just doesn't cut it in today's volunteer military, where the enlisted and junior officers can just "walk" if they don't like the leadership.

Now, I'll grant you it's a lot harder to walk now, with the war and the stop-loss policy. But none of the people who are generals got to that rank with those policies in place. They were all company, battalion and brigade commanders when reenlistment and retention were important markers of job performance.

I can tell you the name of one four-star (retired) who is about as far from "preening blowhard" as you will ever find. I think you know who I mean.

As for Patton, from what I've read, he was a bit of a blowhard, but not preening. The military was different then, and so were leadership styles and training. Additionally, commanders in war have to be tougher ("flinty" is a word I've heard to describe Clark in Kosovo) than they might otherwise be. There are even times when they have to be assholes. But I'll say this about Patton. The people who served in his command loved him because he kept their asses alive. It was mostly those in other units who thought he was an asshole.

[LibertyLover]

11. If Patton had been behind you

he probably would have stopped and offered to help. According to biographies I've read, Patton was, to use an old-fashioned term, chivalrous and took seriously what he perceived his obligation was, to protect and help. Having said that, I do think that your comment was amusing and the driver's reaction to it scary. I'm glad that everything turned out ok. You're right that some of the older veterans don't understand that opposition to Vietnam and Iraq is not opposition to WWII or Korea. Sad when you think about it.

[Swede]

18. I like how he slapped those battle-fatigued soldiers & called them cowards

You can't get more chivalrous then that.

[tjwash]

17. Jeez. This whole thing with the flags...

...is it over yet? I mean for criminies sake, I saw a guy the other day that had 4 flags on his car, driving down the road like he was going to a meeting with der-furher or something.